Mass Effect: Mergence
by Atmos
Summary: Year 2188. A young biotic is seperated from his home. Authorities become suspicious of him and the only one he could trust is a quarian who discovers he has a puzzling connection with the geth. Now he tries to find answers before the answers find him.
1. A Pain in the Neck

**_Disclaimer: Mass Effect is owned by Bioware. This is only a fanfiction that takes place in the Mass Effect Universe._**

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**Chapter 1: A Pain in the Neck**

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_Dad...you..._

"...will be entering the atmosphere in 60 seconds." A digital voice rang in his ears.

"Huh, entering the atmosphere?" He moaned, peeling open his eyes to see blur. He slid his fingers over his forehead and through his short dark brown hair as his vision cleared up. He then moved hand onto the side of his neck where he felt a throbbing discomfort.

A hologram of a human head materialized in front of him. The orange head spoke, "Pike Keaton, please stay seated with your safety belt fastened for the duration of the flight." The head then disappeared.

Pike furrowed his brows. Looking down he noticed he was already sitting and strapped tight. After a few blinks he examined his cramped surroundings. He appeared to be sitting in the middle of tiny cockpit. What he found unusual was that there were no steering controls in front of him, only a small keyboard and green screen to his left displaying "AUTOPILOT." The only thing in front of him was a wide window with the horizon of a blue planet quickly consuming the view. He realized in thought, _This is an escape vessel._ There were two other seats but they were both empty. He was alone. He asked the VI, "Where am I go-" His question was cut short when the vessel began vibrating. Subconsciously he slapped his hands to arms of his seat.

"Now entering the atmosphere," the VI's voice announced in its nonchalant monotone.

_Now it tells me_. The young man grasped tightly as the vessel shook more violently and louder by the second. He never thought a ride through a planet's atmosphere could be so rough. For a split second his mind panicked. _Could I be crash landing?! _His eyes zipped about in every direction. There weren't any flashing red lights or ominous alarms. He then remembered the VI mentioning about staying seated for the duration of the flight. _So maybe everything was in control_. He couldn't calm himself though, not with the fact that he woke up in an escape vessel already plummeting into an unknown planet.

"VI...where am I heading? What planet are we landing on?"

The Virtual Intelligence replied with voice-only, "We are entering the atmosphere of planet Virmire."

"Virmire?" The name rang a bell but he could recall anything about it.

I do not have any additional information, but my sensors indicate a stable magnetosphere and an atmospheric composition of 76 nitrogen, 22 oxygen, 1 water vapor, and less than 1 carbon dioxide and other trace gases. Surface air pressure is roughly 0.9 earth atmospheres. Surface temperature averaged to be 31 degrees Celsius. Surface gravity is measured to be 0.86 G's. Among the traces elements in the atmosphere sensors read the region of decayed heavy elements, indicating the presence of nuclear fallout. However no delays or complications are to be expected as pre-coordinated destination is located far from the range of potential radiation exposure."

Only half listening to the VI's report, Pike held his gaze at the window. Just outside of the ship he saw all blue, but the color was glowing with a tint of violet. The vehicle's kinetic barriers were visible reacting with the intense friction of the air. The shaking dragged on - the sound was the combination of an earthquake and a powerful flamethrower. With his body tense the soreness at his neck only ached worse. Sweat dripped down his cheeks. Even the shields couldn't prevent the buildup of heat from getting into the ship. This was not a pleasant ride.

"blipblip-blipblip-blipblip." A high pitched beeping went off. The Orange hologram appeared again, "Warning: kinetic barrier power supply reaching critical low." The VI stated in a calm tone that only pissed Pike off.

"You're kidding me!" He blurted at the floating head with all his frustration. "Why are we losing power?"

The Virtual Intelligence continued unfazed, "68 of primary power supply was exhausted from the use of two mass relays."

"Two mass relays?! But there aren't any mass relays in-"

The VI interrupted, "Emergency procedure B-2 will be executed: Remaining secondary power cell supply will transfer to kinetic barrier power supply. Notice: Only kinetic barriers, engines, and auto-pilot system will be remaining active after power transfer is complete. Remaining time: T minus 3...2...1...Transfer comp..." The VI hologram vanished with a static pop.

"No wait! What about the mass relays! Argh!" He pounded the back of his head into the seat's head rest and then hissed from the pain of using his sore neck muscles.

_What is going on? What is going on?!_

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"Dad! What is going on?!" Pike asked hastily at his father who was clutching his arm and leading the way through the blue-gray and white corridor.

The scientist exclaimed, "Pike quit dragging! I'm going to need your help. And I'm taking you to safety."

"But the others! Why did we split up with everyone else? If we're going to safety, where the hell are they going?!"

"Damn it, boy! We don't have time. They'll be fine. But I have to make sure that you-" An explosive rumble rippled through the hall, throwing both Pike and his father off their feet, falling to the floor. The tremor triggered the red emergency lights to go off.

"What the? Did something ram into the colony?" Pike looked back.

"Pike! Get up, get up!" He said pulling his son onto his feet.

The two continued running down the long hall. Reaching an intersection they saw a large man in a security uniform running from another hall. Pike's father shouted, "Dean!" Dean, the head of the security unit, scanned the other corridors and spotted the two, "Doctor Keaton! Pike!" He motioned his hand to follow, "This way!"

"Come on, Pike follow him." He father instructed.

"Dean? But is he doing here?!" Right there Pike stopped resisting. He dashed passed his father to reach Dean as quick as he could. Ahead he saw Dean had already reached the elevators. The man was tapping the button as many times as he could with the slightest hope that the elevator would arrive faster in doing so. "Dean!" Pike caught up to him, "What are you doing here, missing out on the action?"

Dean didn't reply. The doctor then finally reached them and leaned at the wall catching his breath. He asked Dean, "So had the attackers been identified, Dean?"

The Security Chief replied with his deep voice, "Yes. But it should already be obvious for you doctor? I knew it was only a matter of time."

"Obvious? You mean the geth?" Pike asked speculatively. Both Dean and his father glanced at Pike at the moment but stayed quiet. _It had to be the geth_. They were the only potential threat to the space colony out in this remote region of the galaxy.

The elevator doors opened with a "bing." The three entered. As the doors closed, Dean stood at the long list of keys; he followed his finger down to the bottom of the list and hit a button. The elevator descended.

Doctor Keaton said in surprise, "What? Where are you- Dean we have to get up to the bridge. We have to activate-"

Dean cut him off, "We are going to the hangar. My team and I have already taken ensured the safety of the other vitals. They will be there as well."

"But that doesn't account for the rest of the populous, Dean! Half the ships haven't even returned."

"You know that is not our concern, doctor. The vitals are the only reason this colony is still here. They are our top priority, especially him." Dean eyed at Pike.

"Dad, what is he talking about?" Pike was confused. _What vitals? What are vitals?_

The doctor retorted at Dean, "And this is your fault. Our protection was you're responsibility. Everyone's protection." Dean only crossed his arms staring into the eyes. The doctor then asked with a sigh, "Can you at least give me some details?"

"We have discussed the emergency plans before doctor. They will be sent to different locations each aboard the escape vessels and pick them up at the classified locations."

The doctors tone jumped up again, "Oh I know what you're talking about and it's not happening. We haven't tested the P-FTL drives on them yet."

"The Pygmy-FTL drives have passed all laboratory inspections. And it is the best way to ensure their safety. Remember it was your decision to delay their field tests on a mass relay."

"Whoa, hold up a minute," Pike intervened, "Mass Relay? But we're a quarter of a galaxy away from the nearest mass relay." That was what his father and the rest of the board told everyone. "Dad, tell him." Pike turned to his father but his father looked away.

Dean spat cough that sounded more like chuckle. "You mean he does not know. Doctor, I had advised you to tell them, but your paranoia cost us. Your flaws do not impress me." A distant rumble shook the elevator.

"Didn't tell me what?!" Pike grabbed his father's arm, "Dad, what didn't you tell me?"

Out of surprise his father rushed from one side to the elevator to reach the panel, but Dean grabbed the doctor by the neck of his shirt. Doctor Keaton tried to break free, "It's too dangerous! I'm not letting you do this."

Dean shook his head, "You do not have authority in this situation."

Pike was in shock. Dean, a man that was always humble and loyal to his father's decisions was now practically strangling him. Pike lunged in the middle of Dean's grasp. "Dean, let me go! Let him go now." A faint blue aura appeared, outlining Pike's entire body. Dean's eyes widened at the sight. The chief quickly pushed the scientist across the area and onto the floor and with unnaturally quick reflexes he spun around Pike. Pike turned quickly only to see a syringe needle aimed down at him. Dean thrust the needle directly into his neck. Pike felt the sharp pain; he felt the liquid injecting into his body. He quickly lost control of his limbs.

"No, Pike!" Doctor Keaton caught his limp son. Pike saw his father's panicked face. He tried to keep his eyelids open but his vision only blurred and darkened.

"Dad...you..."


	2. Breathing

Author's Comment: So I managed a second chapter. I actually had it aside for a while but didn't get the chance to edit it until just recently. Sorry if it might seem a bit slow, I promise some action and more character interaction in the next chapter.

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**Chapter 2: Breathing**

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In silent darkness Pike remained in the seat of the vehicle. A flashlight at hand was his only source of light. He moped of his bad luck; when the escape vehicle had finally reached the landing-place, it was on the night side of the planet. Out in the front of the window he barely made out several stars in the sky. He guessed it was cloudy. Either way he was not stepping out of the vehicle in the dark.

He didn't know how long it had been since he landed. He had forgotten to put on his watch - _of all times_. He tried to think back where he could have left it but his mind only redirected his thoughts to the last memories on the colony. He was tired of thinking about it and more irritated that he make sense of anything. It had happened so fast. He didn't even know for certain who or what had attacked the colony. The geth was the best answer he could think of. But then there was Dean who had suddenly turned on him and his father. Dean had always given his father his full trust, never questioning nor overruling his father or any of the board member's decisions. But there was something that both him and his dad didn't tell him, something that left Pike out of the loop entirely. The Mass Relays..._Did I really travel through mass relays_. His colony was still in the uncharted section of galaxy, thousands of light years to the nearest known mass relay. _Was it a lie?_ Whatever it was, it had to be the reason Dean acted that way. Could the attack possibly been his dad's fault. "ARGH!" Pike pounded the arm of his seat.

Then a sign a relief - an orange glow began to radiate from the corner of his window. "Daybreak," he said to himself. He eyes fixated at the window. Pike watched the rays of Virmire's sun brighten the sky. The light shined from behind a web of still shadows. Pike lifted himself from the seat and knelt closer to the window, "There're trees on Virmire." Pike scanned the environment as the sky grew bluer and brighter. The landing pad was surrounded by a shallow canopy of vegetation swaying in a weak breeze. Tiny insect-like creatures zipped through the air, but other than that there were no other signs of any sentient life. He had already assumed that he was alone in the area considering his vehicle had been left undisturbed throughout the night.

He turned around and pointed his flashlight to the door of the vehicle. Taking his time to reach the door he gripped onto the door's latch. He gulped. Pike was nervous. He had never been on a planet with a breathable atmosphere. The idea of stepping foot on a planet's surface without wearing a helmet and portable life-support was..."weird." He redirected the flashlight to the side of the door at the array of sensor devices next to the first aid kit which he had left open after scrounging for a packet of acetaminophen. He doubled-checked both barometer; the interior pressure was stabilized. The thermometer measuring the outside temperature read a comfortable 28 degrees Celsius. The only other potential threat he could think of was the airborne microbes. But he remembered undergoing the extremely lengthy process of immunization of samples of almost every known biosphere in the galaxy. _I'll take the chance_.

Pike sucked in a deep breath and closed his eyes. Not giving a second thought he shoved down the latch and throw open the door. A rush of humidity blew passed his body. He opened his eyes. He listened to his own breathing for a minute. "Well, I'm not suffocating." He chuckled. He looked up and around hearing the rustling of leaves in the light breeze. A chill zipped through his spine feeling the extraterrestrial wind blow right on his bare skin. He jumped off the rocky ground and surveyed the area. Only a narrow grassy path connected to the small landing pad. Pike had no where else to go. He walked through the path into the grove which eventually led to a half rusted metal stairway descending down a steep gorge. The joints of the beams squeaked loosely. Where ever Pike was he had a hunch no one had been here in a very long time.

Ambling down the stairway a pulse of air blew through gorge. This time the wind had a unique smell to it. "Salty?" He reached the bottom of the stairway which was buried beneath a ground layer of white sand. He pressed his foot onto the flat dune and continued on. He grew anxious; he wanted to get somewhere already. The path widened and he finally made it out of the crevasse. Something stopped him. It was a captivating sight. "Whoa..."

He stared out at an expansive view where the far horizon separated two shades of blue; there was the lighter blue sky and then a flat sapphire blue surface of liquid. "An ocean…of water." Resting a hand to his waist he approached the shoreline. Pike had seen many pictures and vids of the oceans and beaches on the home planet of his species, Earth. It was the natural setting for seagull birds, little crustaceans, and different palm trees that inhabited the tropical eco-rings back on the colony. Virmire resembled a lot like Earth. Pike listened to the water's edge rushing onto the shore, rolling bursts of sea spray before retreating back. The rhythmic sound of the waves was soothing. Inhaling and exhaling, it was as if the planet was actually breathing. "Must be the good atmosphere," He amused himself. He kept walking closer to the water. The waves spread passed and around the ankles of his boots as he ambled down the shore.

He made his way to the sandy edge of the beach where he finally saw another artificial structure. A long metal bridge extended out to another island just a hundred meters or so away. But he gave sharp sigh. The bridge was collapsed, completely tilted on its side and its remains stuck out of the water. _Looks like I won't be walking over it._ Pike looked closer at the bridge. The metal ruins revealed that the water wasn't deep at all. The water was a light blue from the white sand below. All he had to do was walk across the water along side the fallen bridge, _Nothing to it_. From the side of the bridge he started pulling his legs against the force of the waves into the lukewarm water. He then hesitated. Pike a weight discomfort pressed on his mind when he noted the fact that he did not know how to swim.

He inched forward one step at a time. He was now waist deep. _This isn't too bad_. He eased his thoughts. He held onto the railing of the bridge which skimmed across the surface and stretched to the other end of the bridge. He was now chest deep in the water and Pike was breathing deeply. He felt his body start to float but Pike did his best to keep his feet onto the ground. But he was also forced to bob himself up and down in order keep the surface waves from submerging his face. His heart beat faster with each moment. He reached midway but from his perspective he was convinced that the distance between him and the beach ahead didn't change. Irritated he picked up the pace. The skinny bar he held onto was becoming slippery from a thin coat of slimy green algae like substance.

A sneak wave slapped Pike in the face. Flinching, he lost grip on the bar and his head went under. Pike panicked. He couldn't feel the bottom below the water. His limbs swung about trying to climb up the water. He choked with a mouthful of seawater. A fearing sensation rang in his mind, the sensation of drowning. He experienced breathing very thin air before, but at least in that situation it was possible for a fighting chance in breathing harder and more time to escape the situation. But underwater, there was no mercy.

A miracle, his head finally broke the surface but he continued flailing his arms. He spun his head around until he saw the bridge. He somehow drifted away from it. He wanted to lean and paddle forward but was afraid his head would go under. His legs cramped and he treaded himself to fatigue. The surrounding blue water blended the growing aura around his body. He swung his arm forward as if reaching for the bridge railing. Then as if pulled by a strong magnetic his body flew across the water toward the bridge. His hand clung onto the bar. He held the bar tightly while coughing intensely.

Pike made it to the other side. Upon touching the shore he rushed out of the water and collapsed onto the dry sand and letting his nerves calm. He squinted up at the sky. Virmire's sun grew hot as it continued rising. He got up after a moment. He put a mild effort to brush off the sand on him and moved on.

From afar he saw salamander like creatures about a foot long. They retreated in the water when they sensed his approach. Pike didn't like their reaction. "Timid animals only mean not-so-timid predators." He kept a sharp eye on his surroundings. He didn't think of having to deal with any local fauna. _Uh, stay focused Pike. Scaring yourself won't do any good. There's got to be some kind of building or path around here._

While scanning, something unusual caught his sight. He spotted a cluster in the sky; five dark dots became larger as they seemed to close in at high speeds. Pike shook with excitement. "They're ships! I can't believe it. They're coming right for me! Hey!" He waved his hands over his head. The ships continued approaching. They seemed to have noticed him. He knew they had to be looking for him. There was nothing else here.

They were now close enough to make out detail. Pike recognized them instantly. He dropped his arms. "No way." Frightened, he turned from the shore and darted into the outlining underbrush. Just as he reached for cover, the ships levitated loudly passed the area. Two of the giant metallic cocoons hovered over to a flat expanse in the beach sand out in distance not even a third of a kilometer away. The two ships began ejecting men straight into the ground with a hard velocity. Their forceful impact barely fazed the tall troopers as they lifted up from their feet and scattered. They weren't men; not human, asari, salarian, or even turian. Pike had seen more than enough images and vids to know what they were. Pike desperately headed deeper into the woods. Of all the things that could find him, he didn't suspect it would be the geth.


End file.
